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From the martyrdom of Saint Eustathius, also called Placidas: When he had gone out one day as was his custom to the mountains to hunt with his army and all his retinue, a herd of grazing stags appeared to him. And having deployed the army as was his custom, he began the pursuit of them. And while the whole army was occupied with the capture of the stags, the largest and most beautiful of the whole herd, separating from the herd, rushed towards the forest into the denser parts of the woods and impassable places. Seeing him and desiring to capture him, Placidas, leaving everyone behind with a few soldiers, pursued him. But when those with him grew weary, he alone persevered in the chase. And by the providence of God, with neither his horse growing weary nor he himself shrinking from the difficulty of the place, pursuing for a long time, he found himself far from his camp. And that stag, reaching the summit of a rock <most high, stood upon it; And when the general had drawn near,> with no one with him, stood looking all around and considering how he might catch the stag. But the all-wise and merciful God, who devised all manner of ways for the salvation of men, hunts this hunter in the hunt, not as Cornelius through Peter, but as Paul the persecutor through His own epiphany. And as Placidas stood for a long time and gazed at the stag, marveling at its size and at a loss as to its capture, the Lord showed him such a great wonder, not unlikely nor exceeding the greatness of His power, but just as in the case of Balaam, by putting speech in the donkey He rebuked his thought, so also here He shows to him upon the stag's antlers the form of the holy cross shining more brightly than the sun, and between the antlers the image of the God-bearing body, which He deigned to take up for our salvation; and putting a human voice into the stag He calls to Placidas, saying: "O Placidas, why do you pursue me? Behold, for your sake I was present and in this animal I have appeared to you. I am Jesus Christ, whom you worship in ignorance; for your good deeds, which you do for those in need, have come before me, and I have come to reveal myself to you through this stag and to catch you in return and hold you in the nets of my love for mankind. For it is not right that one beloved by me through his good works should serve unclean demons and dead and deaf idols. For this reason I came to earth in this form, which you now see, wishing to save the human race." From Saint Leontius of Neapolis of the island of the Cypriots, Against the Jews, from the fifth discourse: Come then, come eagerly and let us make the defense for the fashioning of the venerable icons, so that the mouths of the lawless who speak unjustly may be stopped; for this tradition is from the Law and not our own. For hear God himself saying to Moses to make images of two cherubim, carved and cast, overshadowing the mercy seat. And again God showed the temple to Ezekiel; it had, he says, carved faces of lions and palms and men and cherubim, from its floor to the coffers of the roof. Truly the word is fearsome. God who commanded Israel not to make a graven image nor an icon nor a likeness of whatever is in heaven and whatever is on the earth, Himself orders Moses to make carved living creatures, cherubim, and God shows the temple to Ezekiel full of icons and carved names of lions and palms and men. And Solomon, having received the pattern from the law, made the temple full of carved bronzes, of oxen and palms and men, and was not condemned by the

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Ἐκ τοῦ μαρτυρίου τοῦ ἁγίου Εὐσταθίου τοῦ καὶ Πλακίδα· Ἐξελθόντος αὐτοῦ ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη θηρεῦσαι μετὰ τοῦ στρατοπέδου καὶ πάσης τῆς θεραπείας, ὤφθη αὐτῷ ἀγέλη ἐλάφων βοσκομένη. Καὶ διαστήσας κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες τὸν στρατὸν ἐποιεῖτο τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν δίωξιν. Παντὸς δὲ τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν σύλληψιν ἀσχολουμένου τῶν ἐλάφων ὁ ὑπερμεγεθέστατος πάσης τῆς ἀγέλης καὶ εὐειδέστατος ἀποσπασθεὶς τῆς ἀγέλης ὥρμησε κατὰ τοῦ δρυμοῦ ἐν τοῖς δασυτέροις τόποις τῆς ὕλης καὶ δυσβάτοις χωρίοις. Ὃν θεασάμενος ὁ Πλακίδας καὶ ἐπιθυμήσας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτόν, καταλιπὼν πάντας μετ' ὀλίγων στρατιωτῶν κατεδίωκεν αὐτόν. Ἀτονησάντων δὲ τῶν συνόντων μόνος προσεκαρτέρει τῇ διώξει. Κατὰ πρόνοιαν δὲ θεοῦ μήτε τοῦ ἵππου αὐτοῦ ἀτονήσαντος μήτε αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν δυσχέρειαν τοῦ τόπου ἀποκνήσαντος ἐπὶ πολὺ καταδιώκων μακρὰν εὑρέθη τοῦ στρατοπέδου αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἔλαφος ἐκεῖνος καταλαβὼν ἀκρώρειαν πέτρας <ὑψηλοτάτης ἔστη ἐπάνω αὐτῆς· Φθάσας δὲ πλησίον ὁ στρατηλάτης,> μηδενὸς συνόντος αὐτῷ, ἔστη περισκοπῶν πάντοθεν καὶ ἐννοῶν, ποίῳ τρόπῳ λάβηται τοῦ ἐλάφου. Ἀλλ' ὁ πάνσοφος καὶ οἰκτίρμων θεός, ὁ παντοίας ὁδοὺς ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπινοήσας, ἀντιθηρεύει τοῦτον ἐν τῇ θήρᾳ, οὐχ ὡς Κορνήλιον διὰ Πέτρου, ἀλλ' ὡς Παῦλον διώκοντα διὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιφανείας. Ἐπὶ πολὺ δὲ ἑστῶτος τοῦ Πλακίδα καὶ ἀτενίζοντος μὲν εἰς τὸν ἔλαφον, θαυμάζοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸ μέγεθος καὶ ἀμηχανοῦντος περὶ τὴν σύλληψιν δείκνυσι κύριος τεράστιόν τι τοιοῦτον οὐκ ἀπεικὸς οὐδὲ ὑπερβαῖνον τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως τὸ μέγεθος, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Βαλαὰμ λόγον ἐνθεὶς τῇ ὄνῳ ἤλεγξεν αὐτοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν, οὕτως καὶ ἐνταῦθα δείκνυσι τούτῳ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν κεράτων τοῦ ἐλάφου τὸν τύπον τοῦ ἁγίου σταυροῦ ὑπὲρ τὴν λαμπρότητα τοῦ ἡλίου λάμποντα, μέσον δὲ τῶν κεράτων τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοφόρου σώματος, οὗ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἀναλαβεῖν κατεδέξατο· καὶ φωνὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐνθεὶς τῇ ἐλάφῳ προσκαλεῖται τὸν Πλακίδαν λέγων· «Ὦ Πλακίδα, τί με διώκεις; Ἰδοὺ ἕνεκέν σου παρῆν καὶ ἐν τῷ ζώῳ τούτῳ ὤφθην σοι. Ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός, ὃν ἀγνοῶν σέβῃ· αἱ γὰρ εὐποιίαι σου, ἃς σὺ ποιεῖς εἰς τοὺς δεομένους, παρέστησαν ἐνώπιόν μου, καὶ ἦλθον ἐμφανίσαι σοι ἐμαυτὸν διὰ τοῦ ἐλάφου τούτου καὶ ἀντιζωγρῆσαί σε καὶ συσχεῖν τοῖς δικτύοις τῆς φιλανθρωπίας μου. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι δίκαιον, τὸν ἐμοὶ προσφιλῆ διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων δουλεύειν δαίμοσιν ἀκαθάρτοις καὶ εἰδώλοις νεκροῖς καὶ κωφοῖς. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἦλθον ἐπὶ γῆς ἐν τῷ εἴδει τούτῳ, ᾧ νῦν ὁρᾷς, σῶσαι θέλων τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος.» Τοῦ ἁγίου Λεοντίου Νεαπόλεως τῆς Κυπρίων νήσου πρὸς Ἰουδαίους, πέμπτου λόγου· Φέρε δὴ λοιπόν, φέρε προθύμως καὶ τὴν τῆς ἐκτυπώσεως τῶν σεπτῶν εἰκόνων ἀπολογίαν ποιησώμεθα, ὅπως ἐμφραγῶσι στόματα ἀνόμων λαλούντων ἄδικα· νομικὴ γὰρ αὕτη ἡ παράδοσις καὶ οὐχ ἡμετέρα. Ἄκουσον γὰρ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ λέγοντος πρὸς Μωσέα εἰκόνας δύο χερουβὶμ γλυπτῶν καὶ χωνευτῶν κατασκευάσαι σκιαζόντων τὸ ἱλαστήριον. Καὶ πάλιν τὸν ναὸν ἔδειξεν ὁ θεὸς τῷ Ἰεζεκιήλ, γλυπτὰ πρόσωπα, φησίν, εἶχε λεόντων καὶ φοινίκων καὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ χερουβίμ, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐδάφους αὐτοῦ ἕως τοῦ φατνώματος τῆς στέγης. Ὄντως φοβερὸς ὁ λόγος. Ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐντειλάμενος τῷ Ἰσραὴλ μὴ ποιῆσαι γλυπτὸν μήτε εἰκόνα μήτε ὁμοίωμα, ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, αὐτὸς προστάσσει τῷ Μωσῇ ποιῆσαι γλυπτὰ ζῷα χερουβίμ, καὶ τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ πλήρη εἰκόνων καὶ ὀνομάτων γλυπτῶν λεόντων καὶ φοινίκων καὶ ἀνθρώπων δείκνυσι τὸν ναὸν ὁ θεός. Καὶ Σολομὼν ἐκ νόμου λαβὼν τὸ τύπωμα πλήρη πεποίηκε τὸν ναὸν χαλκῶν γλυπτῶν, βοῶν καὶ φοινίκων καὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ οὐ κατεγνώσθη ὑπὸ τοῦ